Ultimate Teen Titans: Shades Of Scarlet
by Whenntooda
Summary: UTT Episode Nine. The clone of Spider-Man is unleashed onto the city. It's up to the Titans, plus some unexpected allies, to stop him. But in the end, can Red X be the only one to stop him? Does it take one to know one? Cover art courtesy of deviantART.
1. Chapter I: Deja Vu

****Okay, so here's the next tale. And hey, am I going insane, or are y'all not liking my stories? 'Cuz everyone either isn't reading 'em, or isn't liking them. Either way, let me know, okay? Seriously, a little feedback would be nice. Thanks.

**Ultimate Teen Titans**

**Shades Of Scarlet**

**Chapter I**

**Déjà vu**

* * *

_Sing once again with me,_

_Our strange duet,_

_My power over you,_

_Grows stronger yet._

_And though you turn from me,_

_To glance behind,_

_The Phantom Of The Opera is there,_

_Inside your mind._

* * *

**It was dark, chilly, and wet in San Francisco.**

Rain came down hard, the kind of weather you'd expect in Oregon, or Washington. Not here, in the GoldenState.

Nonetheless, it came down cats and dogs.

"I never understood that phrase," mumbled a black-haired girl, huddled under an umbrella with a tall, handsome young man. She really didn't need the umbrella, being very... _very _thick-skinned. "_Dogs and cats._"

"Cats and dogs, actually," the boy corrected. "Just a random Earth saying. It's not supposed to mean much."

The black-haired girl looked into his face, and if anyone were looking, they'd be struck by her beauty. There was concern on her face.

"Are you okay?" she asked. He grinned.

"Never felt better."

Seeming out of nowhere, another teen appeared, clad in nondescript clothing, brown hair carelessly flipped down his forehead. His brown eyes showed an age that didn't match the rest of his youthful face.

"Dang, still can't get used to that teleporting thingie," he grumbled, walking to stand next to the other boy. "How's things?"

"All quiet on the Western front," the taller teen reported. "How's things at the Tower?"

An ugly look came over the other's face.

"They've been remodeling."

"I'm sure Cyborg's thrilled."

The shorter boy stole a glance at the taller one's face. He saw the cold-blue eyes, the set jaw, and black hair that looked so much like his friend.

And then, without warning, an explosion ripped through the street. The teens reacted in an instant, throwing off their clothing, the boys pulling on masks.

The source of the explosion became apparent as a scarlet-clad figure came flipping through the streets. His gauntlet launcher was skill smoking.

He landed amongst fleeing citizens, silently surveying the damage. Not a word escaped him, but an evil chuckle could be heard if you stood close to him. Not that you'd want to. The black slits that were his eyes clearly said _back off_.

But that was one thing the Teen Titans would not do. Even an eclectic group of Titans such as Blackfire, Spider-Man, and Red X.

* * *

**_One Week Earlier_**

"Surprised, Nightwing?"

Nightwing stared into the face of Peter Parker, not believing what he was seeing, but not surprised by it either. He had pieced together the parts by now.

Red X was his clone.

Why not? He had heard tales of certain Justice League members being cloned. Of course, none of those clones had been perfect, and all of them had been evil before they inevitably died. But it wasn't too much to question that it could have happened to him.

But why him?

So the revelation that this Scarlet Spider was a clone of Spider-Man wasn't the big shocker it should have been. Of course, that didn't make it any less of a big deal.

"See, I figured you'd be more in awe than you're giving me," Scarlet Spider said, holding up his mask. "But I guess you've realized the identity of my brother..."

"Which brother?" Nightwing asked. "Spider-Man, or Red X?"

"Ah, see, that's what I mean." He began to walk toward Nightwing, pulling his mask on again. He raised his forearm gauntlet. "Shame to end it now, but..."

As he fired a small rocket, a jet of water hit him. Cyborg was concentrating his hose at him, and it knocked the missile off target.

Nightwing saw it in slow motion, the target, where the rocket would end up. A car, a taxi, with three people in it. Their faces displayed terror through the window, and Nightwing began to move.

He shot a hook from his grapple-gun, looping the line around the rocket, not sure how he managed to not trigger it.

He swung it around, feeling the line pull as the missile tried to get away from him. He wouldn't let it. He couldn't.

With a Herculean effort, he redirected the rocket to aim downward into the water. It disappeared for a second, and then illuminated the water as it detonated.

Nightwing's arms trembled from the exertion, but he turned to face the Scarlet Spider. The guy had come a lot closer, and as Nightwing raised his arms in defense, he attacked.

_Whoa._

Nightwing was shocked at how perfectly _exact _this guy was to Peter. He fought with the same agility, the same speed, the same strength. He seemed to even have the spider-sense, as Nightwing never seemed to be able to land a hard blow on him. He twisted and turned and Nightwing wasn't sure he'd be able to beat him.

_Come on, you've sparred with Peter. You know his moves._

But the fact of the matter was, he didn't. Because Peter didn't have moves. He just went with whatever worked, a strange combo of blows that always hurt Dick's fighting heart.

And that's when it hit him. Two things... one, was that this Scarlet Spider lacked Peter's ability to change tactics in the middle of a battle. The other thing was a fist in his chest.

"Oof!" he gasped, feeling all of the air leave his chest. He back-rolled away from him, clutching his chest, trying to breathe some air back in his lungs.

Normally, Peter would have something sarcastically witty to say. But the Scarlet Spider was silent.

Nightwing didn't have long to contemplate this. A jet of water came out of nowhere, and hit the Scarlet Spider on the side, sweeping him off his feet.

"Booyah!" yelled Cyborg. "Take that, foo'!"

Nightwing rushed to the side of the bridge, peering cautiously over the edge. The Scarlet Spider was gone.

Boy, did he have some news to break to Peter.

But, of course, he still didn't know what to say when he saw Red X again...


	2. Chapter II: Coming To Terms

****Yo!

I know I've been away. Thanksgiving, my other story that I decided to write... which was fun, by the way. You should check it out, CHAUFFEUR by me. It's about Jason Todd(not Teen Titans version) and the Bat Family. It's pretty cool.

I actually uploaded this two days ago, but then I had to discard of a recently deceased animal(no joke). It was very depressing, and I just didn't want to upload. But now, here's the continuation of **SHADES OF SCARLET!**

**Chapter II**

**Coming To Terms**

Red X was Dick Grayson.

He had Dick's face, every feature, perfect, exact. Only the slightly shorter hair, and colder eyes made him look different.

But other than that... Starfire especially seemed shell-shocked. Beast Boy was gaping, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. Raven was shocked, but also confused, probably by the lack of surprise from Spider-Man.

But Blackfire was gazing at X as if he was the most amazing guy in the world.

"Good job," Hunter snarled, bringing them all back to reality. They looked back at him, remembering the buff killer that he was now. "But cheating death has always come naturally to you, X. My question is, why prolong the inevitable? For what? You have nothing."

X smiled, and it was a sly smile that displayed clearly his life as a rogue and a thief.

"Actually," he said, raising his hand. "I have this."

Nothing happened. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the familiar x to appear and wrap up Hunter. But nothing came out. X looked mildly annoyed, shaking his hand.

"This usually works."

Hunter began to laugh.

"I see that whatever that cure was, it took away all of your Zynothium," he chuckled. "Good... let's see how well you do without your crutch."

X stopped looking confused, and smiled savagely. It was odd to see those kinds of slightly evil grins on Dick's face.

"Sure," he said.

"Dick-, X, no," Spidey said, grabbing his arm. "He may have a new body, but he doesn't have any experience to back it up."

"I know," X said, trying to loosen Spidey's grip. "That's his crutch."

But then the choice was taken out of their hands when an alarm klaxon sounded. Hunter looked up.

"I fear this location has become compromised," he said. "I suggest you leave now if we want to meet again."

He turned to run. Spider-Man's spider sense tingled.

"I think he means to blow it up," he said lightly, and then, "MOVE!"

* * *

**The Titans regrouped at Titans' Tower, and Peter was feeling more and more trepidation with every foot they covered.**

When they finally got there, Dick and Victor were already in the designated war room, pulling up plans for buildings, rogue's galleries, and DNA matches.

"Hot damn," Vic said, staring at two almost perfect matches. "The sample is a 97.8 percent match to yours. That's so odd."

"Because it's usually a hundred percent or it's not," Peter explained, making the newcomers' presence known. Vic and Dick turned around, staring at X.

No words were spoken. The room was deathly silent. Dick slowly walked up to stand right in front of X, who stared him down. Dick removed his mask.

Starfire gasped audibly. The others too were stunned.

It was like seeing Dick looking into a mirror, with subtle differences. X had always seemed taller, but now the two young men stared eye to eye. They looked like twin brothers, with X being the more fun loving one who covered up his fears and Dick being the more serious one who couldn't hold secret fears. X could hitch a crooked smile on his face in an instant, while Dick always held his look that could turn into the Bat Glare. X's hair was shorter, but more in his face, while Dick's was longer and more groomed behind his ears.

"Well, this isn't awkward at all," X said, grinning slightly. "No tearful hugs?" Dick glared at him. And then he turned to Peter.

"There's a guy called the Scarlet Spider," he said shortly. "He's your clone."

Peter's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe it.

"Again?" he asked. The other Titans stared at him, except for Raven, who already knew. "God da-,"

"He's armed with some sort of missile capable device," Dick went on, turning to the computer, drawing up some schematics. "He also has all of your abilities, up to and including your spider sense..."

"Whoa, wait, stop," X said, going over to Dick and grabbing his shoulder, forcing him to turn around. "Is that is? You find out who I am and I get nothing?"

"You get to keep the suit," Dick said with such chill that it would have made Batman blink. "Now let go of me."

"Hey, I'm not dead or going to be any time soon," X said, clearly getting upset. "So we need to talk about some stuff."

"You never felt the need before."

"That's because I knew I was going to die! Please, Dick, we need to talk!"

Dick shoved X aside, marching off to the hallway. If the door hadn't been automatic, he would have slammed it shut. X stared after him, along with everybody else. Peter sighed.

"I'll talk to him," he said. "'Scarlet Spider...'"

He felt Raven's concern on his mind, but encouragement as well.

* * *

**Peter didn't bother knocking on Dick's door. He knew he wouldn't open it.**

It opened with the familiar _hiss._ He walked in, seeing Dick leaning against his desk, his back to the door.

"Well, I gotta say," Peter said, walking up slowly, taking his mask off. "You're handling this whole cloning thing a lot better than I did when I was first cloned."

Dick snorted. His shoulder's hunched up as he did so.

"Hey, it's okay to flip out," Peter went on, not sure whether to put his hand on his shoulder or not. "I mean, there's a whole 'nuther you running around. But hey, at least it's only one."

Dick took a deep breath, and his voice shook.

"Only one?" he said softly, his voice definitely trembling. "Peter, I've been freakin' cloned... this is so much more than what I'm used to, even from Slade..."

_Okay_, Peter thought. _It's time to stop the self-pity._

"Yeah, well so have I," he said, putting a little edge in his voice. "_Three times_. The first time it was a damaged DNA replica of my father which killed my adopted sister and became Carnage. The second time there was five clones. All of them died except for one, and she was a female clone. One of them was aged and mentally changed to believe he was my _father_... you're an orphan too, Dick, you know how that'd feel if you thought your father came back. So all in all, I'd say you got a pretty easy deal. Only one clone, and his life's greatest ambition was to steal."

He paused, allowing Dick to say something. He didn't, so Peter went on.

"Right now, every fiber of X's body tells him he's Richard Grayson. He's eaten everything, learned everything, fought everything, and experienced everything. Except he hasn't. He never has. Can you imagine what he's going through right now? If he had any time to think, he'd probably commit suicide. He's even loved Starfire like you have... but he hasn't. And she doesn't love him."

Peter was treading a dangerous line now. Every Titan had not agreed with Nightwing breaking up with Starfire, but out of respect for his reasons, which Peter could sympathize with, he had kept silent. Certainly now was not the time to bring that up.

"Don't think of him as your clone, your copy... he's done enough of that. You need to open up. I know this sounds crazy, but how about looking at it another way... He's your brother. And he needs you."

Dick still didn't say anything. But finally he turned around to face Peter. There was no expression in his face.

"I'll talk to him," he said. "Can you be there, help me out?"

Peter shook his head.

"I got my own bro to worry about," he said. "No, you're not coming with. You need to work this out with X."

He turned to leave, and paused at the door.

"You might want to talk about other names than 'X,'" he added, before closing the door.

* * *

**Dick wasn't the only one with "sibling issues."**

Raven looked from Starfire to Blackfire and back, still trying to gauge what was going through their minds. Her empathic powers told her that Starfire burned with hate, shame, and a sense of longing, while Blackfire was ice-cold, yet seemed to have a humbleness about her that wasn't there before.

And Raven sat in the middle, feeling like some perverse umpire in a game no one really understood, just played, or else lost.

The silence was getting unbearable. Raven wasn't about to break it.

"So," Blackfire started, speaking the word as if it cost her soul. "You and Robin."

"He is Nightwing now," Starfire said briskly. "And no. We are not 'the together.' Not anymore."

"Bummer," Blackfire said. They didn't look at each other. Raven still remained silent.

"What about you and Red X?" Star asked. Blackfire didn't look surprised at her sister's discernment.

"I thought I fell in love," Blackfire said, nonchalantly. "And then he got his looks back, and I knew for certain..."

Her voice trailed off, and Raven and Star were both shocked to see tears in her magenta eyes.

"Kory," she said, her voice choking. "Ever since... I returned... I've been so alone...if you had given me your love after you defeated me, I would have hated you, and the universe. But you did something far worse... you isolated me. You taught me through banishment how hate and selfishness destroy you. I blamed you for the longest time."

Starfire's eyes also glazed over with tears, but she was often on the verge of crying, ever since Dick broke up with her.

"Remember when we played as children in Myand'r's court? With the glurfkas, and the other animals? You were teaching me even then that love is more preferable to hate."

Star broke down entirely, flying over to Blackfire, embracing her tightly. Shockingly, Blackfire hugged her back. Raven felt like an intruder in the family joy, but felt relief at the same time.

This part of the battle was over.

In the back of her mind, she felt Peter calling to her. Taking her leave of the sisters, she glided silently out of the room.

* * *

Well, now, how 'bout dem apples?

BTW, I'd like to write another Bat Family story, but I want it to be a crossover with Code Geass. Now, since I've only read Geass 9-14(I think), I need some help on this one. Any fan of this particular Manga would be welcome to help. Thanks.


	3. Chapter III: Coming To Grips

****Hey guys. Sorry this is a little late, but I've been spending most of my time watching Code Geass, trying to figure out how to do a Batman crossover.

**Chapter III**

**Coming To Grips**

Beast Boy and Cyborg were busy analyzing X and his new life with much interest.

"So, you're like, Nightwing?" BB asked, poking X in the arm. "Dude, that's so..."

"I'm not," X protested. "I just... look like him."

"Yeah," Cyborg said. "And sound like him... and share his exact genetic makeup."

"I understand you're the one to thank," X said, looking at him. Jeez, Cyborg thought, those eyes. "You came up with the cure."

"Spidey did most of it," Cyborg admitted. "His blood has some strange wonder-drug in it, and that's what saved you."

"So I'm part Spider..."

No one said anything to this slightly ominous statement.

The door opened, and Nightwing stood there.

"X?" he said. "Can I have a word?"

* * *

**The door closed behind Dick, leaving the two young men in the room alone.**

"Ready to confront your fears?" X asked, folding his arms. "Or are we going to have a staring contest for a few minutes?"

Dick sighed, putting his hands on the table in the room. X leaned against the wall, staring at his originator.

"What do you want to talk about?" Dick asked. "'Cuz I honestly don't know how to start this conversation." X snorted.

"Typical. Well, let's see." X pretended to count on his fingers. "You and Kory. Let's start with that."

"Kory?" Dick asked, confused. X gaped.

"Oh, my god," he said. "Your own girlfriend, and you never bothered to learn her name."

"Is that really what you want to talk about?" Dick asked through clenched teeth. "Because I'd rather not. Besides," he jerked his head to the door, "you've got Blackfire, haven't you?"

"Okay," X said, throwing up his hands. "I give. What do you want to talk about?"

There was an awkward silence. Dick knew he should be talking about deep stuff with X, but the words wouldn't seem to come.

"What are you going to do with your life?" Dick asked. X exhaled.

"To the point," he said. "Just like you learned from Bruce."

Dick looked at him.

"I plan to continue my life of looking out for numero uno," X went on. "So thanks for the suit. I was gonna keep it anyway."

"You're welcome," Dick said. He found it was easier to talk than he'd expected. X wasn't like Dick at all. "And... are we just going to have to keep calling you X all the time?"

X shifted, clearly uncomfortable.

"The only other name I know is Richard Grayson," he said. "Kinda awkward. I don't know how to respond to any other name."

"Well, it took the others a while for 'Nightwing' to stick," Dick said. "I'm sure any name you pick..."

"Oh, so I get to choose my name?" X said, and there was a steely note in his voice. "Great, thanks... bro. That seems to be about the only damn thing I got to choose in this life."

"You chose Red X," Dick pointed out. "You've changed your life. You've given yourself life. Why not give yourself a name, too?"

"Because I thought I was going to die!"

This outburst from X stunned Dick into silence. His ice-blue eyes, which seemed much colder than Dick's, were over-bright from unshed tears.

"You... you who've had it all... I don't need any favors from you," X breathed.

"It's not favor..."

"PITY THEN! I DON'T NEED IT!"

With that, X stormed out. Dick was left, looking after him, feeling a hollow sense in his stomach.

* * *

**"What are we doing here?"**

Spidey rolled his eyes, then remembered his mask.

"Looking for clues to this so called Scarlet Spider," he answered Raven. He had wanted her to come with him, partly to count in her powerful abilities, partly to talk in confidence to her. "Last clone that survived took the name Spider-Woman."

Raven blinked, seeming unsettled by the idea of a female Peter. He grinned.

"That's... so wrong," she said, looking disgusted. He stood up, stretching his neck.

"It is."

They were in the remains of the lab that Dr. Ethan Hunter had created the Scarlet Spider in. Spidey was looking for any leads on where they might go after the duo.

"I reckon they're a team, so finding one should mean locating the other," he said, glancing around. "I still wanna know how this guy found out who I am, and where the hell he got my blood."

Raven knelt down now, placing her hand on the ground. She was reconstructing the scene in her mind's eye, so Peter kept silent. Finally, her eyes fluttered open, and she straightened up.

"Hunter isn't from this universe," she announced. "He's from an alternate reality of your universe."

Peter gaped at her. How had she gleaned that? And who was Hunter?

When she saw him staring at her, she shrugged.

"Without Trigon's influence, I've been able to expand my powers," she explained, as if it were simple. "That, and being your girlfriend."

"I love you," Peter said. "Do I ever tell you that?"

"Not enough," she answered with a sly smile. "Hunter is a false name. His real name... is Miles Warren."

Peter frowned.

"I know that name," he said. "My aunt was dating a guy by that name before... yeah." Before he died, he was going to say. Raven nodded.

"But this is an alternate version of that guy," she explained. "He's a scientist obsessed with human DNA replication, which mean-,"

"-cloning," Peter finished. "But still, how does he know me?"

"Well, I'm just guessing here," Raven said, "but I think in his alternate reality, there's another version of Spider-Man, whom he's already cloned, and thus know his identity."

Peter's jaw dropped.

"That's trippy," he said. "But not completely shocking," he admitted. "I mean, the whole universe thing is trippy."

"But that's not all," Raven went on. "I think... I think Warren, or Hunter, is himself a clone."

Now Peter was stunned.

"You let me crawl all over this lab before you could tell me that?!" he wondered. "Now that's bizarre."

"Come on," Raven said. "The guy who could make himself immortal by cloning himself would probably have a few on hand in case of emergencies. I'm guessing this one went on his own, was changed, is mentally unbalanced, has memory blanks, and has a bit of a god complex."

Peter stared at Raven, arms dangling uselessly. Then he picked one up with the other, and slapped himself. She giggled.

"You truly are amazing, you know that?" he said.

"Thank you," she said gracefully. "So, what's the next step?"

Peter walked over to the tank, where some of the liquid which once surrounded Scarlet Spider's body still remained. He felt it with his glove, and his spider-sense tinged.

"I think I can follow his trail," he said. "Not sure how I'm gonna use this crap, though..."

Raven coughed, and he looked at her. She looked at the liquid, then at him, and he knew her meaning.

"Oh, no," he said. "No way. He was floating in this stuff! Probably naked! No way, I'm not imbibing this in any way..."

* * *

**Spider-Man did end up sipping a very tiny bit of the liquid, making faces, and acting like it was disgusting.**

The nutrient liquid that had kept Scarlet Spider alive activated Pete's spider sense, and he could use its increasingly irritating tingle to track down where Scarlet Spider was. He tried not to dwell on the disturbing repercussions of this act.

_Last time I do this kinda crazy crap. Oh, wait, never mind... I'm Spider-Man._

They arrived at one of the highest points in the city. Peter was shocked to see webbing all over the place, and a lithe red figure hanging from one of the loose strands. He had black details on his suit, and black slits for eyes.

He felt a discord in the back of his mind, Raven's reaction to seeing the Scarlet Spider. Well, Peter wasn't too chuffed either.

"Hey!" he said, grabbing onto the web with ease, while Raven hovered behind him. "That's copyright infringement! I'll sue you!"

Scarlet Spider didn't say a word, merely raised his arm to aim a gauntlet at him. Peter tensed, prepared for his spider sense to let him know when to move.

A mini rocket shot out at him, and he tracked his progress as it got closer.

_Okay, spider sense, you can lemme know now..._

He felt a jolt of panic from Raven, which was his cue to move. He leapt out of the way, feeling the afterwash of the jet burn his arm.

It sped into the web, and exploded. Peter stared.

_Why didn't my spider sense warn me?! Oh, crap, don't tell me I'm losing powers..._

He did a couple of flips toward Scarlet Spider, just to make sure he could still do it. Reassured, he suddenly realized a punch was about to hit his face.

Whammo.

Peter tumbled from the web, tasting blood. He couldn't understand it...

_He's my clone. Maybe that's why._

It was in the course of the next few minutes that Peter realized how much he had depended on the early warning in combat. With it gone, his agility and strength wasn't much use without direction.

Fortunately, Raven was with him. Otherwise, he'd have received the second worst ass-kicking in his life, the first always being when he was thrown out the window by Kingpin, early in his life.

Peter recovered himself, watching Raven attempting to grab Scarlet Spider telekinetically. But even though the usual negative glow appeared around his body, he still moved of his own free will. Raven's surprise didn't stop her from dodging his next blow, however.

"Hey, bro," Peter said, coming up for a signature Spidey uppercut. "Sue you!"

The blow landed, but Scarlet Spider merely back-flipped to another part of the web. The blow was hard, but since the Scarlet Spider could take a punch even better than Peter, it didn't matter much.

It did confirm one thing... Scarlet Spider's spider sense didn't work against Peter, either.

_Okay, but still, he's got training. I need to end this, quickly._

Raven was now throwing objects at Scarlet Spider, forcing him to divert his attention between royally beating up Peter and dodging random stuff, like cars.

It was a testimony to the inadequacy of Smart Cars when Raven tossed one at Scarlet Spider, he just caught it, and proceeded to fold it up like a lunchbox.

"Wow," Peter said, shaking his head. "Just... wow."

Scarlet Spider shot a small missile at Raven, which exploded into a cocoon of web that trapped her in mid air.

"Whoa," Peter said aloud. "I need to get me one of those..."

Scarlet leapt at Peter, who grabbed him. Despite his enhanced training, he wasn't stronger than Peter was.

It was a deadlock, each fighting the other for dominance. But mostly Peter was fighting so as not to look bad in front of Raven.

And then he felt a sharp stab in the back of the neck. He momentarily lost his footing, and fell, darkness covering his vision.

_Tranquilizer... son of a..._


	4. Chapter IV: Crossroads

****Beginning to wrap this story up. After the last chapter, I'll conclude Tim Drake's tale, as well. And then I'll take another break and write about Batman/Code Geass! Should be fun, right?

**Chapter IV**

**Crossroads**

Peter groaned, looking up. His vision was blurred, but when he blinked, it cleared.

Surprisingly, he wasn't bound by chains, or entrapped on an operating table. He was just... lying.

When he sat up, he realized that he was wearing jeans and a jacket over his costume, and his mask was gone. He also wasn't wearing his gloves, but a quick inspection of the room he was in revealed them on a bedside table.

He realized that he was in a motel room, and the door was open. He heard the quiet sounds of people whispering, and it sounded like an argument was going on.

Peter stood up, walking over to the door, and looking out. The main room was tiny and sitting or standing around it was a group of teenagers. It took Peter a while to recognize them as the Teen Titans, or at least some of them.

Victor Stone was using one of his holograms, looking like a regular high school senior, with blue hoodie and jeans. Garfield Logan was, oddly, wearing paintball gear, with full face mask. Blackfire looked stunning in a cropped top and low riding designer jeans. And Dick Grayson...

Peter had to look twice before he realized that it wasn't Dick at all, but Red X, clad in a simple grey shirt with sleeves rolled up, and black pants. A bored look was on his face, but intense emotion was betrayed by his ice-blue eyes, lighter and colder than Dick's ever were.

Peter walked in, clearing his throat.

"'Scuse me, but I don't seem to remember what I drank last night," he said. "Where are we?"

Blackfire turned her purple eyes to him, while X scoffed. But it was Vic who answered.

"We got a distress call at the Tower," he said dully. "Raven said something about you being tranked and the Scarlet Spider beating the crap out of you. Unsurprisingly, Raven lost radio contact, so we tore after her."

"All of us," X growled. "Beast Boy here opted to remain at the Tower as an operator." He jerked his thumb toward the paintball clad Gar. Peter raised his eyebrow.

"We showed up," Vic went on, "and got our asses handed to us by your clone. Man, that guy is insane. Took Nightwing and Star down fast. He's ruthless, like fighting a mini Slade."

X didn't cut in. Blackfire was looking dejected. Peter looked around again.

"So why are we here and why are we dressed like normal kids?" Peter asked. "And Gar like... like that."

* * *

**_8 Hours Earlier_**

**"Run!"**

The cry was unnecessary, but it gave X a feeling of control, which was something he desperately wanted in this situation.

The Scarlet Spider was more powerful than any of them realized. Starfire had been trapped in the web, and Nightwing had been stunned by one of the random darts that had plagued the Titans throughout the battle. They couldn't find the source, although X was sure it was Hunter. But he couldn't find him.

Now the Titans were retreating from the cavalcade of missiles that were chasing them through the streets.

"AH!"

X turned back to see Blackfire fall as a missile hit her. Had she been human, she would have died, but thankfully her Tamaranean heritage saved her. She had been knocked unconscious, however.

Without thinking, X tapped his teleporter, using the little Zynothium that he had found at Titans' Tower. An instant later, he had scooper her up in his arms amidst the roar of flame. He reappeared next to Cyborg.

"The Tower!" Cyborg yelled. "What happened?!"

From the end of the street, they could see the little island that the Tower stood upon. It was in flames, with giant holes in it. A small black dot appeared in the sky, which solidified into a figure in paintball armor.

Cyborg caught Beast Boy, as it turned out, and looked at X, anguish in his face.

"Spider-Man," X said tersely, handing Blackfire over to Cyborg. "The others will be safe... well, alive at least. But Hunter doesn't need Spider-Man, he'll just kill him."

Cyborg nodded, giving X a tracker to locate them later. In an instant, X vanished.

* * *

**_Now_**

**Peter stared at X.**

"You saved me?" he asked. "Me, but not Raven? Or the others?" X was shaking his head.

"They were already gone," he replied. "Scarlet Spider was about to kill you."

"X'hal, what a paradox," Blackfire said. Peter turned to her.

"Oh yeah?" he snapped. "How do we know that you aren't working with them, Blackfire?"

X grabbed his arm.

"Her name's Kommand'r," he said in a deadly quiet voice. "And no, she's not working with them."

Peter shook off his hand, glaring at him as well.

"I notice it's not your girlfriend they ended up capturing," he said savagely. Vic now stepped in.

"Enough!" he said. "We need to figure out what we're gonna do next."

"We find Raven and the others, beat up Hunter, or Warren, and my clone," Peter said shortly. "End of story."

"I agree," Gar pitched in, raising the mask of his helmet. "They got three Titans, we gotta go get them back!"

"And then what?" X asked. "Hunter just lets you walk away? Or do we just let him walk away?"

"We take him to jail," Vic said firmly, but X shook his head.

"What about the clone?" X asked. "Are we gonna send him to jail, too?"

There was an awkward silence, and Peter couldn't come up with a good answer. Granted, most of his clones had died, but the perfect ones didn't.

It was Kommand'r who came up with the answer.

"We kill him," she said. "I can do it."

"No," Peter said automatically. "We can't do that, we're supposed to be the heroes."

"We are heroes," Vic agreed. "We can't kill anyone." Garfield nodded. But X scoffed.

"You really think like that?" he asked. "Heroes... the world's full of them. But it's only the ones who are prepared to do whatever's necessary that keeps people safe."

"Sounds like means to an end," Peter said through clenched teeth. "And I don't think like that at all."

"C'mon, guys, we need to focus here," Gar said. "Do we even know where to start looking?"

Peter nodded without turning his gaze from X.

"I can track Scarlet Spider," he said. "A tingle in my spider sense. It's on right now, as we speak. Very irritating, and I can't turn it off. So let's go find him."

He turned to go. X put a hand on his shoulder.

"Finding Scarlet Spider won't be a big issue," he said. "He's been swinging all over the city, pillaging and plundering at his discretion. Locating him will be no problem."

"So?" Peter grumbled, annoyed that the constant tingle wasn't going to be of use.

"He's a blank page," X went on. "Hunter made me a clone of Richard Grayson, with full mind and personality. That's why I went rogue. He corrected that mistake with Scarlet. All he knows is his training and his loyalty. We can't make him give up Hunter."

"His name's Warren," Peter corrected, but saw X's point. "So what?"

"They moved into Titans' Tower," Vic said disparagingly. "It's their base now. They rewrote the security system, as well as barring my own programs from entering."

"Okay, then let's GO BREAK INTO THE TOWER," Peter said loudly. "C'mon, we're Teen Titans, for God's sake. We have a freakin' alien on our team!" He gestured to Kommand'r, who didn't look offended by his remark.

"We split up," Vic said, taking Peter's point. "Pete, you, X, and Blackfire keep an eye on Scarlet Spider. He's the biggest problem to breaking in. Soon's he hears of a breach, he'll be over to kick our asses... again. BB and I will recon the Tower, and let you know the ideal moment to strike."

Peter nodded. It was, at least, an active plan.

* * *

**_NOW_**

**Spider-Man, Blackfire, and Red X engaged the Scarlet Spider.**

The crimson-clad foe didn't appear to be surprised by the sudden appearance of three Titans, and aimed his rocket launcher at them.

"Hey, noob!" Spider-Man yelled, shooting web into the barrel. "No power weapons!"

He wisely didn't try to fire, but merely ripped the web off. By that time, the three teens had closed the distance and using heavy explosions was suicidal.

_Crap, he might just be, _Peter thought.

A three-pronged attack wasn't too hard for Scarlet, but Spidey's blows didn't come with an extra warning, so he saw the need to give him some webbing to eat. Spidey merely shook it off. He landed a solid blow on Scarlet's jaw.

"That's for taking Raven!" he said, getting another good one in. "And that's for being me!"

By this time, Blackfire had established a ring of energy fire around them. X hadn't made his move yet.

"Your turn," Spidey said, backing away. Scarlet Spider leapt at him, not saying a word. It was creepy.

Not as creepy as Red X materializing right in front of Scarlet Spider, a red blade in his hand.

"X!" Spidey yelled. "NO!"

_Shunk._

The sickening sound of flesh and bone being stabbed resounded in the courtyard. The rain really began to pour down, hiding any trace of blood that should have been spurting everywhere.

But it wasn't blood that poured out. It was ash and dust.

"_In pace requiem_," X whispered as he lowered the feeble remains of the clone of Peter Parker to the ground.

* * *

Ooh, burn.


	5. Chapter V: Heroes Aren't Born

**Chapter V**

**Heroes Aren't Born**

Nightwing looked around.

His head still buzzed from whatever the Scarlet Spider had hit him with. Now that he was awake, he became aware that he was held aloft by chains around his wrists and ankles.

His first wild reaction was to make sure Starfire was okay. He saw her, hanging hext to him, awake as well.

"Starfire!" he cried out. But she didn't look at him. He saw Raven on her other side, awake as well, and mad as hell.

"You're awake," said the voice of a tall, well muscled man. He was clad in a black and red combat suit. "It took you a little longer than your not-fully human friends."

Nightwing pulled at his bonds, testing their strength. They were well linked, and he realized that he wouldn't get out without help.

"Okay," he said, his tongue feeling fat. "You must be Hunter."

"Warren," Raven corrected. The man, Warren, turned to her.

"Ah, you learned my real name," he said. "Good for you, although I must admit I'm staggered. How on earth did you learn?"

"Not-fully human," Raven spat. "These chains can't hold me."

She proved it by turning the chains black. Soon, they disintegrated into dust, and she was free. Starfire just hung there, not doing anything. Her emerald eyes were almost closed. Nightwing couldn't understand it.

"Raven!" he shouted, to remind her that she had two teammates trapped. She waved her hand distractedly.

Nightwing and Starfire fell with a clatter. He pulled out his eschrima sticks, and threw them in Warren's direction.

"You cloned me!" he yelled, watching the man catch the batons with ease. "Why?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Warren asked. "Your genome is perfect. Trained since a young age to be the ultimate fighter. But still, you were only human."

"I think I know what happened," Raven cut in, floating dangerously. "You came here from your universe, found Nightwing, tried to recreate your successful experiments on cloning Spider-Man, and failed."

"Very discerning," Warren smiled. "But not only that... I had to heal myself. No doubt, you're aware that I myself am a clone."

Raven nodded. Nightwing felt stunned.

"I can see how you'd really come to hate this clone thing," he mumbled.

"The journey here... it almost killed me. Reduced me from the Jackal to a pitiful form. But now, reborn, I am ready to lead an army of clones upon the world!"

He laughed sardonically, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye.

"Just joking, of course," he said. "I'm nowhere near close enough to clone on that scale. The funding on that would be enormous."

"What about the funding for one clone?" Nightwing asked, edging over to Starfire. "I worked with the Batman, and his stuff wasn't cheap. Human cloning... that's expensive."

"Very perceptive," Warren said warmly, as if he was a professor teaching a class of prodigies. "Unfortunately, that must remain my secret for the time being."

"No, it doesn't," Nightwing growled. He made to leap at Warren, but the other held up his hand. In it was a detonator.

"I don't plan to blow up this building," Warren said. "Merely the brain cords connecting your alien friend's brain to the rest of her pretty body."

Nightwing looked aghast at Star, who now showed tears in her eyes. She had felt the intruding device on her neck.

"I did not say anything," she whispered. "Please, Nightwing, forget about me. That is what you must do as leader, right?"

Tears came to Nightwing's eyes, and he realized just how much he loved this girl.

"No way," he choked. "Koriand'r."

Starfire looked up, her eyes shining with tears, shed and unshed.

"How sweet," Warren smiled. "Tell you what... after twenty minutes, the bomb will be automatically disabled. Ask your witch friend if this is true."

Nightwing glanced at Raven, who nodded.

"In those twenty minutes, you will do nothing to impede my escape," he went on. "That way, everyone lives."

He gasped. So did everyone else as a red blade forced itself through his chest.

"Like hell," whispered Red X. "_Jackal_."

He ripped the detonator out of the dying man's hand, and carefully disabled it. He nodded to Nightwing, who recovered from his surprise, and ripped the bomb off the back of Star's neck.

When he had done this, he stared into her eyes, and she kissed him, and he kissed her back. No words were spoken, because no words were necessary.

They were together again. Nothing short of titanium would break that bond.

**_One Day Later_**

******X looked around at the assembled Titans.**

They were sitting in the newly refurbished living room, cleaned out after Warren's occupation. Raven had her head on Peter's shoulder, and Kory was gazing at Dick with adoration and happiness.

Dick was standing up, addressing the Titans.

"Well," he said. "That was an interesting week."

Small chuckles went around the group. But then Dick's face grew serious.

"We found allies in former enemies," he went on, nodding toward X and Kommand'r, who were sitting very close together. "Without them, we'd probably not have won this."

He paused to let the others pat the two on the back, or say something encouraging. X felt his face burn, and he looked down.

"Even though there was some... bumps along the way," Dick said delicately, "we persevered. That's what makes us Teen Titans. All of us."

He held out two Titan communicators to X and "Kandi" as they had taken to calling her. X stared at it as if he couldn't believe his eyes. He couldn't. It was too much to believe.

But as he grabbed his own comm, Dick grabbed his hand.

"As Titans, we don't kill," he said. "I'm not saying what you did was right or wrong... I'm just saying I hope you found some peace from it."

X smiled.

"I did."

He wasn't about to confide that while Warren's death was personal, the Scarlet Spider's death was mere expedience. He knew the dangers of an empty shell of a clone wandering the world.

But maybe he did have something personal with Scarlet... he showed what X could have become.

"Good," Dick said, releasing X's hand.

Kandi didn't say anything. She just looked at the communicator. Kory gave her a big hug, which she returned.

"So, party in the basement?" Peter said at this point, and everybody laughed. "Or, heck, we can just hook up a disco ball in here!"

Victor's eyes lit up, but Dick quickly squashed that idea.

**Later, Raven sat alone with Peter, high atop the Tower.**

"Hey, you," she said, nudging him. He didn't look at her, just continued to stare out at the sun setting. The rain had gone away, and the sky was lit up with a beautiful crimson orange glow.

"Feels weird," he said. "Another clone dies. Every time I think of that, it feels like I've died all over again."

She looked into his face, startled.

"But it wasn't," she said. "I mean, it wasn't you. Clones are their own person, aren't they? I mean, X is more like Dick's brother than a perfect copy."

"True," Peter conceded. And then he added, "You know, I never even saw his face."

"Scarlet Spider?" Raven asked. He nodded. "Maybe that's better."

"Maybe." He looked into her eyes, so deep and beautiful. "Hey, I got an idea."

"What?"

"Let's make out."

She laughed again, submitting to a deep, passionate kiss.

**Elsewhere, Dick had placed his hand on X's shoulder.**

"So what are your plans?" he asked, looking into the eyes that were so like his own, yet so different.

X shrugged.

"Thought we'd stay here for a while," he said, referring to himself and Kandi. "If that's alright."

"Of course it is," Dick said. "Brother."

X grinned.

Yes, he truly was Dick's brother now. Not his clone, but a full human being in his own right.

As he got into bed later, he remembered that he didn't have a name yet.

Ah well... he'd figure it out in the morning.

The fact that he had a morning to wake up to was all the sweeter for it.


End file.
